Steering-gear for traction-engines.



H. F. MANNING.

STEERING GEAR FOB. TRACTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7, 1913.

1,105,086. Patented July 28, 1914.

2 SHBETSSHEET 1.

luuwdiop W s awn- THE NORRIS PETERS c0., PHOTO-LITHD., WASHINGTON, D. c.

H. F. MANNING.

STEERING GEAR FOR TRACTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. '1, 1913.

1,105,086, Patented July 28, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

m, ws

THE NORRIS PETERS CO4, PHOTO-'LITHQ. WASHINGTON. D. C

near the rear end thereof in any convenient I-IARRYF. MANNING; or PEOR-iA, ILLINOIS.

STEERING-GEAR non TRACTION-ENGINES.

stes.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 28 1914:

Application filed February 7,1913. Serial No. 746,951. e

To all whom it may 00mm Be it known that I, HARRY F. MANNING, citizen of the United States, residingv at'Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Steering Gear for TractionEngines, of which the following is a specification. a.

This invention relates to steering' 'ear fo traction engines, and has for its ob ect the provision of simple and eflicient ,ineans whereby the front axle may be turned'at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the engine frame so that the machine will turn to either side as may bedesired.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for turning the front axle at an angle, as stated, which will be simple and efficient and act directly upon theends of the axle so that the aXle will be turned'positively and easily. I

A further object of the invention is to provide means for turning the axle at an angle which will be supported upon the frame of the vehicle below the body of the same and will operate easily and without ex,- cessive friction. y

. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the claims following the detailed description.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved steering gear with so much of the frame of a traction engine as isnecessary to illustrate the position of the several parts of the gear; Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail transverse section showing the manner of supporting the transversely moving carriage; Fig. 4c is a detail perspective View showing the con? nection between the members of the toggle constituting the axle-actuating devices; Fig. 5 is a detail elevation showing a hanger and bearing for the steering shaft; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of the support for the front end of the engine frame; Fig. 7 is a view showing a modification.

The engine frame 1 maybe of any convenient or preferred construction and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as constructed of channel iron and of an oblong form, the driving or traction wheels 2 being mounted upon the said frame at or mannenj .The front steering wheels arev carried by. a front axle 1 which is supported by a suitable king bolt 5 at the center of a 1 hanger 6 which is securedto the frame ator near the front end thereof and depends from the same. This hanger is substantially V- shaped so that, its sides will converge downwardly toward its center to directly support the king bolt and the front axle and also to.

provide clearance forthefront steering bars or Inembersof the toggle; The said front members or steeringlevers 7 havetheir front ends connected by gimbal joints 8 or other form of universal couplings with clamps 9 whereby they arefirmly connected with the axle, the said clamps'being securely fastened 3 about the axle adjacent the steering wheels, l

as clearly shown in Fig. l. :The steering bars or levers 7 converge from the ends of the axle toward'the longitudinal axis of the engine frame and are equipped at their inner ends upon their upper and lower-sides with straps 10. which project over and are pivoted I to segmental blocksll which in turn fit around'the front ends of the rear steering bars 12 and are pivotedtothe sides of the same by cap-screws or other forms ofpivot pins l3which are inserted through the ends of the segmental blocks into the sidesof the rearsteering bars. The rear steering bars 12 are equipped at their reariends withfupper and lower straps 1 1 which extend above and below a cross bar 15 and are pivoted to the same, as indicated at 16, whereby the said bars may move freely laterally but will be prevented from vertical movement. 1 The cross bar 15 is secured to and extends between longitudinal side bars or beams 17 which have their front ends turned upwardly, as indicatedatlS, and rigidly secured to the lower edges ofthe sides of the main frame 1, as will be readily understood. Hangers or posts 19 may be provided to secure the intermediate portions ofthe side bars or beams 17 with the side bars of the main frameand the rear portions of the said beams 17 may be reinforced by struts 2O bolted to the under, sides of the beams, as

shown in Fig. 2, the front ends of these struts being securedto the beams by the same bolts that secure the cross bar 15 theretor A 1 platform 21 is carriedby the rear ends of the beams 17 and mounted in the said plat form is a steering post 22 equipped with a hand wheel 23 atits upper end and being additionally supported by a bracket or brace ment will be imparted to the carriage to ing bracket-3O which is secured to and depends from a hanger 31 secured to and extending between the beams 17 adjacent the upturned portions 18 of the same, as'shown.

heforward ends of the. rear steering bars 12 are constructed with longitudinal slots 32 which extend to'the extremitiesof the respective bars and receive a pivot pin 33 mounted in the carriage 34, rollers 35 being mounted upon the said pivot pin within the slotsso as to reduce the frictional wear. It

- will be readily noted upon reference to Fig.

1 that the rear steering bars converge forwardly and extend beyond the pivot pin 33 so that the rear steering bar and the front steering bar at the same side of the engine together constitute'a toggle connecting the front axle with the cross bar 15. It will also be noted that as the rear ends of the rear steering bars are pivoted at fixed points, if the front ends of these bars be moved to either side, there will be a tendency to either straighten or collapse the toggle according to the direction of movement and consequently, the front axle will be turned about the king bolt 5. To accomplish this lateral movement of the front ends of the rear steering bars, I provide the carriage 34 with the pivot pin 33 therein and the said carriage consists substantially of side bars or standards slidably mounted upon rods 36 which are secured at their ends rigidly in the hangers 37 secured to and depending from the main frame 1. Transverse bars 38 extend between the sides or standards of the carriage between the upper and lower guide rods 36 and the ends of the bars 12 project between the said transverse bars 38, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. A rack bar 39 is rigid with the lower end of the carriage and extends to the opposite sides of the same, the said rack bar meshing directly with the pinion 28 on the front end of the shaft 27 so that, if the said pinion be rotated, move shift the same to one or the other side of the frame. This lateral movement of the carriage will be transmitted directly to the pivot pin 33 and through the same to the front ends of the rear steering bar, so that the said bars will be likewise shifted laterally. When the bars are thus shifted, the toggle at that side of the machine toward which the carriage moves will be straightened so that the corresponding end of the front axle will be pushed forward, and, simultaneously with this movement, the toggle at the opposite side of the machine will tend to fold and pull rearwardly the adjacent end of the axle. The steering wheels will thus be brought to any desired angle relative to the main frame and will be held in such position until the carriage is shifted in the opposite direction to return the axle to its normal position at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the main frame.

It will be noted that the straps 10 at the inner ends of the front steering bars or levers are extended beyond their pivotal connections with the segmental blocks 11 and turned slightly toward the rear steering bars a shown at 40, so as to project slightly over the front extremities of said bars, and the upper and lower ec ges of the said rear bars are made slightly convex at these points so that the frictional contact between the projecting ends l0 and the rear bars will be minimized. It will be noted, more particularly upon reference to Fig. 2, that the rear steering bars are in a somewhat higher plane than the front steering bars and that the front steering bars are inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the front axle. The interposition of the segmental blocks 11 accommodates the angular relation of the front and rear steering bars and provides a knuckle joint so that the bars will move easily and freely, while the projecting extremities 40 of the front bars will prevent the bars assuming such an excessive angular relation as will prevent their ready operation. The longitudinal slots in the front ends of the rear steering bars permit the said bars to swing about the pivots at their rear ends without binding upon the pin 33 and without becoming disconnected from the carriage or the front steering bars or causing damage to said parts or to any other parts of the carriage.

Tn, Fig. 7, I have shown the carriage mounted upon guide rods 41 which are spaced apart vertically a somewhat greater distance than are the guide rods in the previously described arrangement and a worm shaft 42 is j ournaled in and extends between the hangers so as to have a threaded engagement with the carriage between the upper and lower guide rods as will be readily understood. One end of the worm shaft is extended beyond the adjacent hanger and is equipped with a beveled pinion 4:3 meshing with a similar pinion 44 on the end of the steering shaft 15 which is mounted in any convenient manner on the side of the main frame and extends into the cab of the engine.

My improved steering gear is obviously simple in construction and arrangement, being composed of few parts and may be manufactured and applied to any type of traction engine now in use at a low cost.

Inasmuch as my device is connected to both ends of the steering axle, the said axle will be readily moved and will be held rigidly in the position to which itis moved so that the engine may be steered easily and Will respond quickly to'the impulse imparted to the actuating devices by the engineer.

What I claim is I 1. A steering gear for traction engines consisting of steering bars connected to the ends of an axle of the engine and converging from said axle, other steering bars pivoted at their outer ends to the engine frame and converging toward said axle, the inner ends of the last-mentioned steering bars being pivotally connected to the inner ends of the respectively adj acentjfirst-mentioned steering bars, and means for shifting the connected ends of the several steering bars laterally.

2. A steering gear for traction engines consisting of steering bars connected to the ends of an axle of the engine and converging toward the longitudinal axis of the en gine, other steering bars pivotally secured at their outer ends to the engine frame and having their inner ends overlapping and pivotally connected to the inner ends of the respectively adjacent first-mentioned steering bars, and means acting upon the secondmentioned steering bars to shift the same laterally. j

3. The combination with an engine frame and an axle pivotally mounted thereon, of steering bars pivoted upon the engine frame and converging forwardly from their piv ots, other steering bars pivotally connected with the opposite ends of the axle and converging rearwardly therefrom toward the first-mentioned steering bars, pivotal connections between the front ends of the firstmentioned steering bars and the rear ends of the adjacent second-mentioned steering bars, and a carriage movable transversely on the engine frame and engaging the first mentioned steering bars to shift the same laterally.

l. The combination with an engine frame and an axle pivotally mounted thereon, of steering bars pivoted upon the engine frame and converging forwardly from their re spective pivotsj segment blocks pivoted to the front ends of said steering bars, other steering bars pivoted to said segment blocks and extending toward and pivoted to the ends of the axle,tand means acting on the first-mentioned steering bars to shift the same laterally. r v

v5. A steering gear for traction engines consisting essentially'of oppositely disposed toggles mounted atthe oppositesides of the engine frame and each consisting of arear steering bar, a segment block pivoted to the end of said steering bar to swing vertically, and a front steering bar pivoted to said segment block to move substantially horizontally. a v

6. A steering gear for traction engines consisting ofoppositely disposed toggles arranged at opposite sides of the engine frame and each consisting of a rear steering bar, a segment-blockpivoted to'the front end of said steering bar to move vertically relative thereto, and a front steering bar pivoted to said segment block to movehorizontally relativethereto, said front steering bar being provided with extensions adjacent its pivotto project over the extremity of the rear steering barf t r 7 The combinationjwithan engine frame and an axle pivotally supported thereon,

of hangers secured to and depending from i the said frame, guide bars extending be-- tween said hangers transversely of the frame, a carr age shda'b'ly mounted upon the said guide bars,a pm fixed in said carriage, steering bars pivoted at their rear I ends to the engine frame and provided at their frontends'with longitudinal slotsengaging around the-said pin, and front steering bars pivotally attached at their rear ends to the front ends of saidrear steering bars and having their frontends pivotally connected with'the ends of the axle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature ARTHUR LANGABEER, JAMES NossETT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. (1. 

